Stalwart
by Scepidilionz
Summary: In consequence of Operation Firestone, Rico Brzenska and Erwin Smith are kidnapped by a criminal gang in the attempt to learn more about the operation. Both are severely wounded, but refuse to give in and work together to escape. DARK THEMES.
1. Stalwart

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **Please consider this story a dry run for a fic I will be writing later on,**

 **Which will be much longer**

 **And much more graphic.**

 **(Rated M)**

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 **This story should be out in a week or two at most!**

 **Thank you for taking the time out to read my work!**

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 **This was originally going to be a oneshot, though I've decided to break it up into two long parts.**

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 **WARNING: DARK THEMES AHEAD.**

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 **Stalwart**

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The last thing Erwin remembered was walking her home after the meeting, he always did. Ever since Rico Brzenska had become the commander of the Garrison Regiment, they had grown much closer as he taught her the ropes, the political know how, and who to trust. She was quick to learn this, as well as just about anything, she would be a pillar of humanity's strength and hope one day.

That particular meeting, they, along with the Commander of the Military Police and the Commander In Chief, had been discussing Operation Firestone. The entire operation was top secret, however, it had been known to bite the asses of people of military importance, so it was necessary that she know the details. Essentially, the head of a criminal gang, drug runner, rapist and murderer, had been captured after feeling to the safety of the underground. His name was Christian Hoover. The people on the surface held no authority of those below, but given the threat, all forces of the military had united to secure his capture. Many people had died in the process, but a force of true evil had been removed from that world that day. He was now in prison, under heavy guard, in one of the 'bait towns' surrounding wall Sina, specifically Yalkell, the western district. He would rot away there for the rest of his days, while being relentlessly tortured for the names of those he worked with.

Rico was particularly on edge after this meeting. She hated hearing of the monsters within the walls. She threw up after hearing about how he beheaded an entire family, simply because their father wouldn't work for him. Before doing so, he tortured them, particularly the wife and youngest daughter. The murders that the military had committed in order to secure his capture had been absolutely necessary, they needed to make sure that Rico understood that. Sure enough, after story after story, Rico had asked them to stop, saying that she had had enough. She would have nightmares for weeks. Erwin hated seeing her so shaken, but they had gotten their point across.

When they had arrived at her home, Rico made him tea, as she usually did, and set a record to play. It had been one of his favourite songs, So ist es Immer, and they had enjoyed the tea together, talking casually about the events of the day. Of course, she had seemed more distracted than usual, but he didn't blame her. She would need to get her mind off of the atrocities that he had told her.

After that, it became fuzzy. He remembered hearing a knock at the door, and watching Rico get up and answer it. After that… it wasn't clear. He did know that they had been alone in the house, so someone must have snuck in when they didn't realise it. Because he now had a throbbing bump on the back of his skull, which had probably been what knocked him out.

He woke up to find the two of them in a cell, chained to the walls by both hands, and an ankle, propped up with their backs on the wall. Rico was on the opposite end of the room, bleeding from her temple, and clearly unconscious. There was only one door in or out of the room, and that was to his left, but there was no visible handle, meaning it had to be opened and locked from the outside. _Definitely a dungeon._ He couldn't help but notice smears of blood on the door, likely from where others had tried to claw their way out, before being killed or collapsing from exhaustion. How long had they been in there? The blood on Rico's face was fresh… So likely not very long.

"Hng…" He heard her groan in pain. She would likely be delirious from a wound like that. "Where…?" She opened her eyes, trying to get a grasp on her surroundings. Her vision was blurry, whoever had taken them had taken her glasses, she could make them out on the floor in front of her. When she tried to reach out and grab them, she realised that her hands were bound. "Erwin?" She asked, seeing the blonde on the other side of the room, squinting to try and make out some more detail. The blood getting into her eye wasn't making it any easier.

"It's me." He responded, seeing that she was squinting. Her vision must be worse than he realised. "Do you remember anything?" He whispered, just in case there was someone on the other end of the door listening to them.

She shook her head for a moment, before a thought came to mind. "The man on the other side had a tattoo… I remember getting a glance at it." She couldn't remember where it was placed, through description of the marking itself was on the tip of her tongue, "It was… A rose. A burning rose!"

Erwin was about to inform her that they were in deep trouble, as that was the mark of Hoover's gang, when a man stepped in, "The symbol of the Freedom Hunters." The man said. He was dressed in black from head to toe, the rose on his shoulder, where his left sleeve cut off, but not his right, which ran all the way to his wrist. His hair was blonde, somewhere in between Rico and Erwin's shades, and his blue eyes sent chills down Erwin's body. They were completely soulless, they eyes of the killer. "And one of you is going to describe operation Firestone to me, in great detail." He squatted down in the middle of the room, resting his forearms on his knees, "I don't care which one of you it is, but if you don't one of you dies, then the other." He lit a cigar, studying their faces. "Give the girl her glasses back." He said, and another man scurried to put the glasses on her face, only to be bitten by the new commander, who cursed at her and slapped her. "Hey!" He got up and pulled the other man off of her, "I didn't say to hit them yet." _Feisty._ He eyed Rico, who glared back at him. "She reminds me of my ex wife."

"How's that?" Rico spat up at him. She knew what top secret meant, and she wasn't going to say anything. She knew Erwin wasn't going to either. Plus, this guy looked like a tool. She hated tools. He had probably taken control of the gang after the previous leader was taken down, only to find that it was too much of a hassle, and instead of backing down, he was going to get the other guy back.

"She kept kicking until I slit her throat." He knelt in front of her, grabbing her chin, "I would imagine you're quite the screamer." Yes, he would kill her first. Or threaten to. That was the easiest way to break a man. Commander Smith was the real powerhouse here. He was the one who had arrested Hoover, he knew that much. "Name's Kort. We'll get along if you play nice." He patted her cheek before standing up to face Erwin, "Now, why don't you talk. The sooner you do, the sooner I can let you go."

"We'll be hanged as traitors to the crown. There's no point in us walking out of here." Erwin said, being a realist. He looked to Rico, she was putting on a brave face, better than anyone he knew, but she was going to die here. She had to realise that. _I'm sorry that this is how it ends._

 _Erwin don't you dare give up. I'll get us out of this, I swear._ She yelled when Kort grabbed Erwin's face, and slammed his skull against the brick. "Erwin!" She couldn't help but yell, seeing the fresh blood on the wall. He was still breathing, but he would be in great pain. "Stop it. He's not going to tell you. So you should just kill us now." She met the man's eyes, trying to keep hers off of Erwin. "He better not, or I would kill him myself when we got out of here." _Please, Erwin._

"Oh? So you don't know?" How curious, they were both commanders, so they both should know. But that look in her eye said otherwise, "I don't believe it."

"I'm new, I haven't been read into all of their programs yet. Especially their meaningless ones that are done and over. If you had waited one more week, perhaps I might have." She was not going to tell them anything, not after what Erwin had said the man had done. Those poor girls… No. No one would ever suffer like them again. If that meant that she had to die here, if that meant that they both had to die here, so be it.

"Oh?" He approached her, grabbing her chin again in a quick thrust, "You're lying." She had to know! Otherwise there was no point in taking the both of them! Worst case scenario, they could hold both of them hostage. In fact, that was probably their best best at this point, especially if they weren't going to talk. But every human had a breaking point. He grabbed his knife, cutting off a chunk of her hair, and passing it to the other man. "Tie that up, it's proof of life. You got any kids sweetheart?"

"No, but I got a snake that looks just like you." This earned her another hard slap, nearly knocking a tooth out. _This is nothing. This is nothing compared to what they went through._ She pictured one of the victims in her mind. For them, she wasn't going to give in, "Do you honestly think that two people who have fought and won against the titans are scared of your sniveling group of prepubescent boys?" She could make out Erwin's form out of her peripheral vision, he was losing consciousness. He probably wasn't lucid enough to talk anymore.

He shook his head, leaning in to whisper in her ear, "No, but I think you're scared of death. That's why you've survived this long." He patted her shoulder, getting up. "Tell the boys to have their fun with her while I try to negotiate with the MPs." It was likely that the military police knew that they had them, they just didn't know where they would be keeping them. Now there was only to see who was worth more to the government, two commanders, or one crime leader?

Rico's eyes widened when she realised what he meant, "Erwin, don't you dare say a word!" She cried out as one of the men gagged her. She closed her eyes, praying for it all to end quickly. She tried to kick them, but she was overpowered, out numbered, and bound.

Erwin started to wake sometime later to hear Rico crying. She wasn't wailing, her sobs were quiet and fearful. He had never heard her cry before. "Rico?" he watched her freeze at the sound of her voice, wiping tears from her eyes with her shoulders. "Rico… Are you alright?"

She nodded, trying to compose herself. Trying to erase what had just happened to her from her mind. Trying to find any reason for why it was necessary. "He left. Said something about the MPs, I don't remember." It did sound like he was coming back though, "Are you alright? You… You really worried me." Her wrists were bleeding from where she struggled against the chains, and her bound ankle was twisted in an awful direction, and was definitely broken. She wanted to tell him that she had a plan, but she couldn't risk the man stationed outside the door hearing it.

"Please, Rico… I'm fine." He looked at her terribly concerned. She was really beaten up, "What did they do to you?" He asked, she was a mess! "Did they…?" He watched her slowly nod, completely humiliated, "Oh Rico, I'm so sorry…" She shook her head, telling him to not apologise, that it wasn't his fault. "How long have I been out?" He decided to change the subject, he felt dizzy and dehydrated.

"A day, maybe two." There weren't any windows, so it was hard to tell time. It did feel like an eternity. "They've given us water, but not much. We could last a day, maybe another after that." She looked to Erwin, "I don't want to die. Erwin." Not yet, she had to keep fighting! She had never given in before, she had never given into the titans, so she sure as hell was not going to give in now. "If they hadn't made contact with the military police before, they surely have by now. They're likely trying to decide how much our lives are worth."

"Not enough to let Hoover go." Erwin said, seeing a glint in her eye. She hadn't given up yet, why? He had known from the moment that they were thrown in here that it was over. There was no reasoning with these people, they weren't sane. She had a plan. But what could they do? They were both bound! They couldn't tell them where Hoover was, and even if they told a lie, there was no way they they were going to just let them go. They would kill them anyway.

"Good news." Kort said as he entered the room, "They're not going to take you back. So you die here. But hey, at least it ends, right?" He looked between the two, "Sleeping beauty's awake, anything you want to tell me?"

"Yeah." He said, looking at Rico, defeated, "Go to hell." If she hadn't given up, neither could he. She had thought of a plan. It meant that this wasn't hopeless, that they had a way out. "I'm not saying a word. Especially after what you did to her. You're sick."

Kort nodded, a smirk on his face. "You really will keep kicking until the end here then." He took a step back towards the door, "Have fun then. You've got maybe… fortyeight hours to spend together? Then it's certainly over. One of you with have the pleasure of staring at the other's corpse for a few hours." He stepped out of the door frame. They were a lost cause. He needed someone lower on the foodchain, less prepared to give their heart for humanity.

Rico waited a few minutes, listening to the footsteps leave. "Hey Erwin?" She nudged her glasses off of her face, holding them with her knees, starting to chew the plastic ends off. "Thanks for believing in me." If this was the end, she was going to do her best.

He nodded, seeing that spark in her eyes, "What's the plan?" Why was she chewing apart her own glasses? He needed to do whatever he could to help, he needed to figure out how to get that door open.

"I'm going to pick these locks… With my mouth." She said with a smile, she could make out the confusion on his face, she could feel it. "Yeah, that's it. That's my master plan. Once I got my arms, I was gonna work on my ankle, and then crawl over there and get yours off. Can you pick locks?" He shook his head, and she sighed in disappointment, "Well, just hang on, I'll get there." She bent one of the arms of her glasses, that would be the one she held the tension with. She bent the other arm back and forth until he came off completely, and bent that into a rake. In theory, she could use her chin to keep the tension, while she worked the rake with her mouth. "If it doesn't work… I always thought you were cute. If we get out of this, let's go to that restaurant in Stohess that the King likes. The one with the edible flowers."

"Deal." Erwin said with a smile, watching her get to work. He couldn't help but wonder where she had learned that skill, perhaps there was more to her past than her background check suggested. "I've always thought that you were quite charming." He saw her smile, she couldn't talk while she worked, as she was using her mouth for other things. What a remarkable talent, to be able to pick locks with one's mouth!

Two hours later, Rico was to the point of exhaustion. It was all over her face, but she kept going. The most difficult part was keeping the tension right while raking back and forth. There were five pins in the lock. She knew the order in which they had to be pushed now. She wiggled the rake some more, and pop! The lock on her right wrist came off! "Fuck yes!" She cheered, laughing happily. Erwin looked up at the sound, eyes going wide. She had actually pulled it off! He laughed too, and they sat there for a moment, celebrating her small victory. "I'll do it, I swear." She smiled at him, tears of glee in her eyes, "Do you have a plan for the door?"

He nodded, crying a little bit as well. She had been through so much more than him during this whole ordeal, and seeing her refusal to give up gave him strength. "It's about as crazy as picking a lock with your mouth." He grinned, ah, what a story they were going to have to tell when they got out. "I'm going to use my belt buckle, stick it out of the peephole at the top of the door, and somehow get it to hook on the handle on the other side." He paused for a moment to stare at her face, "If it's round, then I will use the textured part of the belt to get a better grip on it, I might need yours for the extra length."

She took a deep breath, breathing in the stale, musty air of their environment. She felt so alive. "I can't walk. My ankle is completely messed up." She motioned towards it, rolling her wrist in circles to try and get feeling in it back. "You may have to carry me out."

"I'll carry you over the doorframe." He smiled at her, and she blushed. Perhaps it was the fact that he had been cooped up with her for this time, and was going to make it out of this hell with her, but certain blissful thoughts were popping into his head.

"I didn't know you were such a flirt." She smiled, getting back to work. This time, she had a much easier job, as she was now able to hold the tension stick with her mouth, and the rake with her fingers. As such, this lock popped open in a matter of minutes! After another such celebration, she got to work on her ankle, "I can't believe it, Erwin!" She laughed some more. She would never sit here and die like a dog! In a matter of seconds, thanks to practiced ease, she had that one open as well. "Oh my god!" She cried, crawling over to him.

He watched her, wonder in his eyes, laughing as well, "Oh my god." She collapsed on his chest, clutching onto his shirt, "We're not out yet." He would embrace her, but alas, his hands were still bound. From this distance, he could make out all of the bruises and marks on her body. He watched her get up with renewed vigor, and start working on his chains as well, leaning over him.

As soon as she got his off, he pulled her into an embrace. She kissed him, grabbing at his face, desperate for positive human attention. He ran his fingers through her hair, noting on section that was thinner than the others, that was where they had cut at her hair. Their tongues mingled with eachother's, both gasping for air whenever they could.

Rico was the first to pull away, looking into his eyes. She couldn't make out much detail, but she knew what she saw there, Hope. "As soon as we get medical attention, I'm nailing you to my bed." She huffed lustfully, burying her face into his neck for a moment.

"And I can't wait." he smiled, shifting so that she was against the wall, making sure she was comfortable, before tearing off the bottom section of her white jeans to get a better look at her ankle. It was terribly contused, there was no way it wasn't broken. "You're going to need a doctor for this." It was all purple. Purple and black, with speckles of yellow towards the perimeter of the bruise. This type of wound was caused by an area of the body being smashed. One of those bastards had stomped down on her ankle to shut her up and keep her from struggling. "Does it hurt?"

"It did. It went numb after a few hours of me screaming." She laughed nervously, that was probably a bad sign. "But that doesn't matter right now. Get the door." she patted his head, wanting to kiss him again, "Your lips are bruising." She smiled, pressing her fingers to her own, which were swollen. _He's a great kisser._

"That they are." He kissed her cheek, taking of his belt and hers so that he could work on the door. He couldn't see the knob through the peephole, so he would have to do this by feeling it. "Good news, it's not a ball. A regular hook knob." Unfortunately, the hook made the angle that he would have to get his belt buckle around a little harder. But if Rico could pick a lock with only her mouth, than he could do this.

He kept managing to get it on the hook, only for the belt buckle to slip off as he started to pull. He tried a dozen different positions, it just wasn't happening. "Rico, do you had a hair thing? One of those pins." He asked, kneeling in front of her and watching her take a bobby pin out of her hair. "Thanks." He used it to attach the two belts, getting up slowly. "Don't worry."

"Who said I was worried?" She smiled, feeling dizzy. "How's your head?" He had been hit against the wall pretty hard. She was surprised that he was able to stand, although his hands were shaking. "Don't push yourself for too long, I could try." Though she probably wasn't tall enough to see through the peephole. And she couldn't even stand with her leg in this condition. They needed to get water soon.

"To be honest, I'm extremely lightheaded." It was part of the reason that he was moving so slowly. He felt like he would fall over if he moved too quickly. "Though I'll be fine." He could barely see, his vision kept fading in and out, and getting very dark. Hopefully this would resolve itself soon. It was making opening this door even harder than it already was. He threaded the belts through the hole, snaking them around the knob on his first attempt. He had gotten pretty good at that motion. "You're going to need new glasses."

"No shit." She laughed, running her fingers over the lenses, they were very scratched up from rubbing up against the metal chains. She sighed, feeling a wound in her gut. She had been stabbed there. She was thankful that they didn't hurt Erwin too much. They couldn't get an unconscious man to talk, and everyone knew how stubborn he was. Though even with all of his powers of observation, he hadn't noticed the blood on her shirt. He had been hit pretty hard. "Erwin, take a break."

He shook his head, cursing as the loop slipped off again. "I almost got it." He glanced around the room, looking for anything that could help them once they got out. There was nothing. "We need to figure out where we are. Then we can see about getting to the nearest place to get help." He just hoped they weren't in the middle of nowhere inside wall Rose. That would suck. "And we need to get water, and medical attention for your leg." He had to take care of her, she was torn up. "Great first week as Commander, right?"

She laughed, nodding, "Yeah, hell of a first week." She tucked her matted and bloody hair behind her ear, "I can't wait to see what's in store for week two."

"Mostly parties actually. Now that you've been indoctrinated through some form of physical torture, it's all easy from here." He smiled, looking at her, "If only, right?" She nodded, smiling up at him and he got back to work, aring a small click. "Ah!" He pulled it towards him until he could fit his fingers through the crack, swinging the door open, "Finally. Got it." He sat down for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts, "We need a plan."

"Head to the nearest Garrison base. I know where they all are." She said, looking at the open door, feeling the draft that was now entering the room.

"That's assuming that we're close to the wall." He said, thinking out loud, though she shook her head, "What?"

"Um… The garrison has bases everywhere. Including places where we're not technically supposed to have bases." Every commander before her had broken that one, tiny little rule. "Sometimes we're too drunk to walk all the way back home." She joked, trying to make light of the situation. "You can't tell anyone. It's a secret."

"Great. You're breaking the rules too." He sighed, looking at the roof, before getting up to pick her up, wrapping one of her arms around her shoulder. He wouldn't be able to carry all of her weight feeling like this, they would both just end up getting hurt. "Don't we all though."

"Didn't you once hold a man hostage because he was blocking your expedition funds?" She took her first hazy step, being unsure if she could handle it, though determined to try. He legs felt weak and shaky, but she managed to do it, "Or was it blackmail?"

"Blackmail, and it worked." He smiled, thinking about it, "What can I say, I was young and dangerous. Well, one of those still applies." He was well aware that both the Garrison and the Military Police had sayings about him. Either about how he had a stick up his ass, or that one should never mess with him, unless they wanted to be skinned alive. "If you think I'm bad, you should see Hanji. She's terrifying when she's mad."

"She's terrifying when she's happy." She looked around, trying to figure out where to go, when she heard footsteps. "Erwin, hide." She whispered, her heart already racing. They couldn't fight someone in their state! She gripped at her glasses, feeling the sharpened metal. She would just have to stab them. Erwin scuttled to the nearest wall, back against the stone.

They were relieved when the footsteps turned and headed off in another direction, completely bypassing them. "We have to be careful. We don't know how to get out of here, we can't risk getting lost-" He looked to the emblem to his right, imbedded in the stone, shaking when he saw it, "In the name of Wall Maria…"

"We're fucked." Rico said, starting to cry. "They've holed up in the maintenance tunnels of wall Maria…" She kicked the wall, cursing the heavens. "Fuck." Just how did they get out here, and how would they get out?


	2. The Burden of Our Past

**UPDATE:  
I have decided to postpone the other story I mentioned,**

 **In order to work on my other stories:**

 **Fall, The Beauty in All of Us, and Starlight.**

 **As I may have bitten off more than I can chew! XD**

 **When Fall and this story are completed, I will then work on it! :D**

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 **Chapter Two:**

 **The Burdens of Our Past**

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Rico slid down the wall, placing her forehead on her knee. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't bring herself to. There were many ways that she would be okay with dying; execution, disease, old age… But the one way that she didn't want to go? She didn't want to be eaten by titans. Any other way… And she would be happy. She looked up to Erwin, watching him pace. "You may have to leave me." She said with confidence. She raised her shirt to show him the wound in her gut. It was starting to become infected. "I'll slow you down. With this and my ankle… Dragging me along isn't worth the risk to your life."

"Shut up." Erwin said, kneeling in front of her. After all she had went through, was she really going to give up now? "I'm not leaving you." He examined the wound in her gut, it was a bad wound. "Rico… If this doesn't get treated…"

"If I don't die from it? I won't be able to have kids." She nodded, understanding. She had thought of that already. "Never planned to though." Still, even if she didn't plan to… Plans change. Not being able to was a different sort of limitation. "The infection will kill me first, though. Either this one, or the one that will inevitably form in my ankle." Would she be able to continue to lead the garrison after this? If her leg was permanently damaged… It was unlikely. "Your head though." She reached for the back of his skull, and he winced when her fingers made contact, "This worries me."

He nodded, sitting beside her. "We need a plan." He spoke calmly and softly, trying to keep his thoughts together. "They could not have gotten out here across the surface. They would have died. Furthermore, if they traveled across the surface… The blood on your face would have dried before we got here." He remembered the blood dripping down her face from when he had first woken up, it was still fresh then. "Even on horseback, there's no way that they could have done it."

"They've also been communicating with the MPs." Rico said aloud, brainstorming. "When Kort came to us after their meeting, saying it had been a bust, he was too clean. He would have had some sort of dirt on him or an injury, or at least not looked so calm." She had seen the mess of the scouts every time that they returned. There was no way one of them came back without a speck of dirt, not even Levi. "So that leaves us with… Underground tunnels… Or a giant flying horse."

"We're currently underground, so tunnels are not impossible, or even improbable… If the garrison built tunnels underground in the past, do you think you could figure out where they are?" He asked, he was sure that she had memorised countless floorplans from the last decade or two, which would have been required for her position. Anything beyond that into the past… Especially about Wall Maria… Would have been mostly irrelevant.

"Well…" She sighed, drawing in the dirt on the floor. "Well… If I had to stake my life on it… Which I do given the situation…" She closed her eyes, trying to think, but she was so dizzy! "They would lead from one bait town to the next. I think it's safe to say that we are in one of Wall Maria's bait towns… Given that these people would want to avoid titans as much as possible… I would say the northernmost. Or… Quinta." She said, circling the western and northern bait towns of Wall Maria. "Quinta survived six months after Wall Maria was abandoned, before the people began to starve and had to flee the town. Of course, that's just the official reports." Hardly anyone made it out, so the reports were sketchy at best. She tapped her fingers on her leg, desperately racking her brain, "Oh I don't know!"

Erwin wrapped an arm around her, crossing out Quinta. "Then we pray the tunnel leads to Utopia." He circled the northernmost city of wall Rose. "But what part of the wall would the tunnel be built in? If we could figure out where we are, how will we find the tunnel?" These tunnels… They could be used for taking back wall Maria! How could they have not known about these?

"Below the gate?" She questioned, feeling unsure. "I would say that it has to be a part of the district that connects to both the main wall, and the wall of the district. So somewhere in line with the gate." She looked at Erwin's face, he seemed so.. Concentrated. "If we find the tunnel, it's likely to be heavily guarded… Normally I would suggest waiting it out but… We don't have a choice."

"You grew up in Sina, right? Ehrmich, if I recall correctly." She nodded, "So you know your way around weapons." Ehrmich was known for the amount of weapons that the citizenry secretly had. It was believed to be the seat of many attempts to rebel against the king. It also produced a large number of Military Police members, despite it already being in wall Sina. He couldn't help but wonder as to what lead her to join the Garrison Regiment. She should have been perfectly happy back at home. She could have probably married into a noble family, as Brzenska family was pretty well known. "Why are you here, Rico?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, curiously, "Because I was taken against my will?"

"No, Rico. Why did you join the military?" Everyone he knew used their service as an escape. It was a way to get away from something. "Everyone has a reason."

"... I don't tell people that reason." She shook her head, "Come to think of it… I've never told a single person. I think it's a secret that I'll take to my grave." She sighed, forcing herself to stand up, "Now we just need to figure out how to get our hands on their guns. That's why you asked if I was from Ehrmich, right?" He nodded, getting up as well. "I can shoot. Everyone from there can. It's almost… A coming of age ceremony when you get your first gun there." Her first gun had been a small pistol, then a shotgun. "You ever fire?"

He nodded, "In training. That was about it. My dad didn't like guns, even though we had one in the house."

"Why did you join the military, Erwin?" She asked as they started limping along, Erwin supporting her again. She guided their way through the maze as they spoke, mostly following her instincts, combined with that she knew if Wall Rose. They had the element of surprise on their side, there was no way that Kort would suspect that they had made it out of that room alive. _Thank you, Erwin. For not giving up on me._

"To find out the truth. I want to know the truth behind this world. It's my reason for living. My father was on to some things and he was killed for it." That required getting to Shiganshina, with Eren's key. Then he would know what his father had died for. He couldn't wait for that day, the day that everything would make sense… The day that his father would had died with a purpose. If his father hadn't died for the reasons he did… There was no telling what Erwin might have done with his life. Perhaps he wouldn't even had joined the military at all. In which case, the scout regiment would be nothing what it was today, not to brag, but those were all of his achievements. His plans. His strategies. They wouldn't have those had his father not died. So those who had killed him to prevent humanity from knowing about the outside world had made a big mistake, perhaps their biggest yet.

Rico nodded with a smile, looking into his eyes. They were so fierce, so pained, but behind all of that was kindness. It was the deepest regret that humans could not live a life of peace. "And after that?"

He shrugged, which hurt Rico, "Oh sorry sorry…" He looked her over to make sure she was okay before continuing, "I don't know, honestly. That's been the goal of my life for so long… So I'd have to find a new goal." Perhaps he'd get married and start a family. Yeah, that would be nice. They would finally have the secret to defeating the titans after all, so his children would already be born into a much better world than he was. "Do you have any long term goals?" She didn't seem like the type, she was so… Alive. They type of person that lived in the moment, no matter how scary and harsh it was.

"One." She nodded with a fond smile, her eyes shining, "I just want to be happy!" She laughed, feeling free just saying that. "That's it. That's my goal for life. I want to die knowing it was a good run. No regrets." She had lots of regrets. But she had to make up for those somehow. To remind herself that her mistakes only made her more human.

"It's a good goal." He smiled, leaning on a wall to take a break. "Do you have a plan as to how we're going to get one of their guns?" He asked, they would need to get one before they could get another.

She nodded, "Kill them." Simple. She wasn't sure how. "I could always distract them, and you get up from behind and snap their necks." Her eyes had so quickly changed from their previous glee to hardened steel. She couldn't move to kill someone, not with her leg, she couldn't even walk on her own, let alone handle a struggling man. "Then we see if they had a map of this maze on their person."

He nodded. All was fair in love and war. The Freedom Hunters had made this war. It had been war for a long time, ever since Christian Hoover roamed the streets.

They came across a young man, kneeling down on the ground, petting an adorable little tabby cat. He was wearing the same black uniform as Kort, with the same tattoo on his left arm. "There kitty kitty!" He laughed, it was a beautiful sound. He had such a rich shade of brown hair accompanied with blue eyes. His cheeks had a tinge of rose to them as he picked up the cat, holding it in the air, "Well aren't you the cutest! Look at those little bean toes!" He played with the cat's paws, and it meowed in response.

Rico almost felt bad that this was the man that they came across. He looked so sweet and innocent! Though they had made up their minds. Erwin gently set her down, sneaking off so that he could corner the man from somewhere else. Rico waited for a moment before shuffling out from behind the corner, her heart torn in two. Could she really kill another human being? "E-excuse me…" She said shyly, playing a damsel in distress.

The man turned around, blue eyes meeting hers. "Ah!" He yelped, getting up, and the cat ran away. "Are you alright Miss?" He asked, running over to her, when he saw the Garrison symbol on her jacket, "You're... One of the people they captured. How did you get out?" He looked at her ankle, eyes narrowing, there was no way that she made it out by herself like that, not this far from the dungeon. "Call your friend off, I'm not going to turn you in." He said, eyes losing the glimmer that they had a moment ago. "Sit down, let me treat those wounds." He guided her down, reaching into a bag on his hip and pulling out some bandages. Rico couldn't help but wonder if Erwin would continue. "I know the awful things they did to you two, I'm so sorry."

"What do you mean?" She asked. Wasn't he one of them? He was wearing the exact same things that Kort was? Was this just a ploy until the rounds changed, and his backup would arrive? He was quick witted. He had quickly figured out that this was a trap, and despite that, he wasn't trying to kill them. She watched as he injected her ankle with something that looked like morphine, before cutting it open with a knife. She whimpered, tears coming to her eyes. This certainly wasn't the place for surgery! She let him get that close… Seeing him with that little kitten showed what type of person he really was. She doubted that this was an act.

"Most of us are against it. But apparently Hoover himself ordered it. I don't know why… They just want information. But it's stupid. Kidnapping two high profile people like you would only draw attention back to us." He put the knife away, bandaging the wound, "Sorry I had to cut you, it was to relieve the pressure. You could really hurt yourself having a compound fracture like this and not getting treatment right away." He smiled at her, tending to her other wounds. She couldn't help but wonder what on earth had possessed this man. He was so kind! "And to hurt a lady like this… It's a shame. Let alone not even giving you a chance to fight back. I bet you could have kicked their asses had you not been bound."

"You're right." Erwin said, coming up beside the man. He had been listening. Rico didn't feel threatened by him. And besides, if he could treat their injuries, they might as well keep him alive for now. Especially since he seemed to know what he was doing. "Who are you?"

"Ah, sorry sorry!" He said, showing his perfect smile. "My name is Zhukov Kilman. I'm a doctor from Stohess. And you both are Commanders Rico Brzenska and Erwin Smith. I'm a huge fan of you both." He looked back to Rico's wounds, "I'm going to need you to remove your shirt, ma'am." Rico nodded, slipping it off, "Ouch, that must hurt. It's infected…" He reached into his bag again to get some antibiotics, "Swallow this. It's not poison, I promise."

Rico looked to Erwin, who nodded, and she swallowed the medicine with the water from Zhukov's kanteen. They didn't have any choice but to go along with him for now, after all, they needed his help. "Do you know your way around? Could you help us get home?" The man looked nervous, and she sighed.

"Hoover has my sister and her daughter. He said he would let them live if I worked for them here. So… I do as I'm told. It's been two months since they moved me here." He sighed, feeling so lonely, "They needed a doctor so desperately… They would do anything to keep me here. They send me locks of their hair to prove that they're alive…" He looked like he was about to cry. He just wanted to go home and see his sister and his niece.

Erwin pitied him. It was pathetic. He seemed quite skilled, he probably could have saved a lot of lives. "What are their names?" None of Hoover's victims lived. Erwin had investigated all of the cases alongside the military police. Of course, there were some that he excused himself from, because of an expedition or planning. The man was talkative though, admitting these things to strangers.

"Lillian and Emily Kilman." He said with a smile on his face, they were his pride and joy. "Emily is a bastard, but we love her just the same. Lillian never told the father, said he was too busy to worry over those things, that he needed to save the world." He saw Erwin grow pale as a sheet, "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Rico saw his expression as well, and it worried her. She had never seen Erwin so tense.

"I'm fine." He said with a sigh. _You never told me? Lilly… I'm so sorry._ He knelt beside Zhukov, "I have to bring you some news. I… worked almost every single Hoover case when I could. Whatever promises he made… They were always lies. Lillian and Emily are dead, I'm sorry." He felt his heart tear in two.

Zhukov laughed, though he looked weary, "You're joking! You're just saying that so I'll help you out… Right?" Erwin shook his head, and Zhukov stopped what he was doing, his hands were shaking, "Please…" He had the utmost respect for Erwin, even though he had never met him. He was going to save humanity after all, so he wouldn't lie. Commander Erwin Smith wouldn't lie to the man saving his comrade's life. "Were they in pain?"

Erwin shook his head even though this was indeed lie. Whoever had killed them for Hoover had been unbearably cruel, they always were, he didn't need to read the police report to know that. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Zhukov started to cry silently, getting back to work, "I should have known that he wouldn't let them go. I was a fool for believing him." They would have been dead either way, right? "I'll help you." He said calmly, "I'll help you get out. Though on one condition." _Don't worry Lilly, Emily, I'll be with you soon._ Erwin nodded again, letting him know that he would agree to it, "You let me kill Christian Hoover." He was a doctor, but some people couldn't be allowed to live in this world.

"No can do. He's in a prison. He has been for the past couple of years. He's no longer calling the shots here, I believe it to be Kort. Do you know his last name?" This information would be quite useful to the military police, especially if they could get Zhukov to testify. If they could escape, they could also notify the MPs as to where exactly their base was, and they could wipe out these scum once and for all.

"Kort Danube. Apparently he used to live in the underground beneath the capital." There were a lot of rumors about the man. He was a bit upset that he wouldn't get to kill Hoover, but alas, he was a doctor. He was supposed to save lives, not end them. What was he thinking? "Alright Commander. You need plenty of water. Especially with those antibiotics. Commander Smith, please let me look at the head of yours." He guided Erwin to the floor, looking at the skull, running his fingers over it, even though he knew it would hurt. He had such small hands too, despite being so tall. He was probably as tall as Mike! "It's hairline fractures, but you should still take some anti inflammatory drugs just in case there's swelling in your brain." He pulled those out of his bag as well. He had basic drugs for everything in there. "Here." He set them in Erwin's palm.

Erwin swallowed them when Rico passed him the canteen, "Thank you." He felt Zhukov beginning to clean up the blood. "Zhukov. If I may ask. All of Hoover's… targets… Had been the wives and children of those he selected. He never focused on someone who didn't have those. He felt that they were harder to manipulate and control, because they would have another man watching over them." Sure, Erwin should have been there, but Lilly had just been an affair. If he had known she had a kid with him he would have been there for her! He wouldn't have left her! She knew what he was like before their relationship started… That he couldn't settle yet. But even so… It must have been so difficult on her. "Hoover is extremely sexist." To him women were weak, and to be controlled by men. It made Erwin sick.

"Well… I never married, and I don't intend to. I'm not interested in women, I never was… Lillian and Emily were the only girls that mattered to me. He had been desperate for someone with medical knowledge… Apparently I was the only one weak enough to agree…" If he had stayed there with them… Would it have made a difference? Would he have been able to fight of their attackers? There was a lot he could do with a needle. _Erwin… was it you?_

Rico looked at her ankle, she could see the swelling going down, even from underneath the bandages. Zhukov was a miracle worker! "You're not weak. You're kind. You were cornered, and had to make a quick decision. You did what you knew." She patted his back, feeling terrible for him.

He nodded, getting up, "Let me go get you some more water, and then we can go, I'll take you to the tunnel." He unhooked his gun from his hip, passing it to them, and Rico was the one to receive it. He stepped off, boots clicking on the concrete floors.

"I trust him." Rico said, looking to Erwin, who nodded in agreement. "You knew his sister. It was all over your face." He nodded again, more slowly, "You don't have to talk if you don't want to, but I'm all ears if you need."

"We had an affair. I don't know if I'm Emily's father but… It's likely. I can't believe it…" He was frozen in disbelief, "I never even knew she was killed. It must have happened during an expedition after we arrested Hoover… I'm just in shock." He was a father and he never knew. "I wonder if he has any pictures of Emily." Emily… He loved that name. He had always told Lilly that if he had a daughter he wanted to name her Emily. It was perfect for them, it started with an E like his name, and ended in Ly like her nickname. "I never even got to meet her…" And Lilly had never told him… because he was too busy? How awful of him… What a coincidence it was to finally meet her brother here. She had held him so dearly.

"She thought you were a hero that was going to save humanity." She pulled her knees to her, wrapping her arms around them. She thought the same of him. "She had her reasons. We all have our skeletons in our closets." Perhaps she should tell him? No… She couldn't. "I ran away from home because of an affair." She admitted, even though that was only a half truth, "You asked why I left Ehrmich? I was engaged to a man I didn't want to marry. He was an idiot, a slob, and completely incompetent. And I was in love with someone else. My father couldn't call off the engagement without starting a feud. So… I ran away with my boyfriend. We both joined the military. He died during the battle of Shiganshina." He had been a year ahead of her in the military, and had barely graduated when the battle occurred.

He wrapped an arm around her, they were oddly comforted by each other's pain, knowing that they weren't alone. "We'll make it out of this, Rico." He kissed her temple, and looked up when he heard footsteps coming back towards them, "Zhukov-"

The man wasn't Zhukov, and he was pointing his gun at them, Rico did the same thing before Erwin even noticed. "What did you do with Zhukov? Why do you have his gun?" He took another step towards them, neither Rico nor Erwin said a word. "Answer me!"

 _If I pull the trigger… It'll be loud. It might hurt Erwin with him this close to me. Zhukov doesn't have a silencer. But the noise will draw other people to us, and so will a dead body._

"If you don't answer me I'm shooting-" He couldn't finish, as Zhukov came up from behind and stabbed him in the jugular with a syringe. The syringe didn't have a stop on it, so the blood shot out onto the wall, propelled by the force of his beating heart. "Zhu…" He looked so betrayed, and Zhukov didn't even flinch as the life drained from the man's eyes slowly. He took his gun, passing this one to Erwin. He had blood on him now, and he yanked the syringe out of his comrade's neck. It was his weapon now.

He grabbed two glass bottles of water, and handed them to them, which now had blood on them from his contact with the dead man, "Drink." He watched them down the water, "The rounds are changing, so we should go now."

Rico nodded, seeing all of the blood on the floor. Humans really had that much blood? It wasn't long before they got up. Zhukov supported Rico, as he didn't want Erwin to put too much stress on his body. Up close, Zhu smelled wonderful. He didn't smell like the stale underground air, or dirt and sweat, he smelled like candied rose petals and lavender water. _He's so… gentle._ She noticed the way he was supporting her, being careful to not cause her any harm. It was so considerate.

They arrived at the tunnel as it wasn't very far from where they had started. Zhukov signaled them to stop, and passed Rico to Erwin. "I can get to him, I'll feign injury and say I need help, and stab him. You two get the horses." _They won't leave me behind, will they?_ "Get all of them, we'll bring them, that way they can't follow us."

Rico and Erwin nodded, and Zhu took a deep breath, stepping out into the view of the guard. "The prisoners…" He gasped, and his comrade ran over to him, "Help me!"

"Zhukov are you alright?" The man asked, holding a man he considered friend. Though he was one of the few that came here on his own accord. He was willingly contributing to the misery of others. "Don't worry, let me get help, stay calm." He took out a rag to stop his friend's bleeding, confused when he didn't find any wounds, "Zhu-" The doctor stabbed him with the same bloody needle he had used to kill the other man. He fell to the ground. Zhu felt pain in his heart, and confusion. He had just killed two people, barely an hour apart. How was this not hurting him? Why did he feel nothing?

Erwin helped Rico up onto a horse. There were five here, and fortunately they were all well tempered. "You okay?" Riding with her injuries was going to be quite painful. "If it starts to hurt too much, let me know, we'll figure something out."

She nodded, already in pain. She wouldn't admit it, not until they were home. Then she would complain up a storm to herself, in her journal. "You too. Don't fall off." She smiled, patting his head. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Zhu examining the bloody corpse of his friend, making sure that he was dead, so he couldn't talk. "He's dangerous." _There's nothing more dangerous than someone who has nothing to lose._

"I know." Erwin said, mounting his horse. He had let the three other horses out of their pens. It was surprising that they had so few, however, horses were quite expensive, not only to purchase, but to take care of. He watched Zhukov come over towards them, covered in blood. It was a terrifying and contradictory sight, how a man so small and sweet could kill without batting an eyelash. "I'm sorry." He said to the man as he got on a horse.

Zhukov forced a smile, which was quite creepy given the blood on his face, "Don't be. They hurt two beautiful and kind people." _Life is so precious, so sacred… Those who pose a danger to it should have their most precious gift taken from them._

 _Great. A murderous doctor, a man who just found out he lost a child he didn't know he had, and a cripple. This is going to be good._ Rico sighed, snapping at the reins, and her horse took off, Erwin and Zhukov following behind before long.

They were going to make it back.


End file.
